Only One Me
by kageshoujo
Summary: There maybe way too many Annas, but THAT Anna is determined that there was only one her. Gaius' accidental run-in with her leads to him discovering just who Anna is.
1. Flutter

There's Only One Me  
by kageshoujo

Summary: There maybe way too many Annas, but THAT Anna is determined that there was only one her. Gaius' accidental run-in with her leads to him discovering just who Anna is.

* * *

**Chapter One: Flutter**

Her big brown eyes blinked at him, her lips parted slightly in surprise. She was frozen like that for a few seconds, staring at him, just as he was. Anna was standing there in the stream, red hair wet, completely undressed.

"W-_Whoah_-I-I'm sorry, Red, this was an accident, I swear!" Gaius said, holding his arms up to his face, as if preparing for an attack that was to come. Robin had walked in on him once-and it was not a pretty experience. The female tactician, flustered, grabbed at the nearest object and threw it straight at him. From a logical perspective though he should have been the one shocked and throwing objects back then at Bubbles... but nevertheless he did not want that traumatic experience repeating itself.

Anna, however, only turned her back on him to hide herself and did not proceed to object throwing. "Are you sure about that now?" she asked, with a slight smirk that spelled bad luck for any supplier she was going to haggle to. Gaius heard it in her voice it and felt a little shiver. "You're gonna pay your weight in gold if I find out otherwise."

His bad premonition was right-she was going to turn this awkward situation into something she could profit off of. _Typical Red_. "If it's gold you want, I assure you I don't have much," he said. "..._But_ I do have these chocolates that may tickle your fancy!" He immediately rummaged through his hidden pockets to produce some of those chocolates wrapped in gold foil and fashioned like gold coins. _Red's gonna love this one. Heh._ He set them on the ground, and took one last look at Anna-still with her back turned towards him to cover herself-and then he'd decided to run off, before her sneaky merchant self proceeded to wring all his gold out of him.

He took one last look and noticed one last thing. She had a tattoo a little below the nape of her neck. It was in the shape of a butterfly.

**0o0o0o0o0o0**

One idle afternoon in a village marketplace, Gaius had decided to set up a stall to try and sell some wares. Over the course of time, as a thief and wanderer, he had learned to keep an eye out for precious and novelty items he knew he could sell for an extra gold or two. Whether they were smallclothes from imported silk, the rare tome or manual, or a jewelry of fine make, Gaius knew how to keep an eye peeled for it (and... _acquire_ it, by however means).

He'd pulled a locket from his sack of knick-knacks-and he paused for a bit as he'd glanced at the surface of it, engraved with the design of a butterfly. He'd remembered Anna, and the curious tattoo she had. He'd wondered why she even had it. It was not in fashion among the people, and most of the time people who were marked had bitter stories explaining why they were. He'd thought about the tattoo in his arm, his lips tugging down to a frown as he did. _Those weren't sweet times._

"Well look what we have here..." A voice snapped Gaius back from his thoughts-and speak of the devil-it was Anna. She had a sack of newly-bought items slung over her shoulder, no doubt with goods she'd managed to buy on the cheap. Girl always knew where to get the best suppliers. "Didn't know you were into the business as well," she said.

"I like to dabble in selling sometimes, y'know, sell the odd trinket here and there," Gaius said. "...Fancy anything you see?" he asked hesitantly, knowing she was probably going to haggle down anything.

Anna smiled and let her eyes wander around his stall once more. "Let's see... beautiful riding boots... nope, I wouldn't have much use for that. Oh, this bag is made of genuine leather! But doesn't my sister Anna make a bunch of those? ...Exquisite smallclothes... but nothing my other sister Anna can't get me a good deal for... Oh."

She had paused in her monologue, surprising Gaius, until he had realized she was pointing at something among his wares. He'd blinked and realized it was the butterfly locket.

_...Oh indeed_. "The locket, Red? Why?"

Anna picked up the locket and examined it, looking closely at the details. Gaius knew the item had its own flaws-the metal wasn't of very fine quality, it could easily be dented. The design wasn't engraved very smoothly either. _Surely Red can tell that, being a merchant and all?_

"Well, this metal looks like bad stuff and the handiwork is undoubtedly of a novice's..." He was right-Anna didn't miss it. But then she just shrugged and smiled. "But what can I say? The flaws add character to it."

Gaius was silent and just stared at her for a while, and then said, "Character, eh? You got a thing for butterflies? Find 'em cute or something?"

"Excuse me?" Anna said, puzzled.

"Y'know, you have it inked on your back and then this-"

"W-Whoah!" Anna shrieked in suprise. "Y-You saw that?!"

"Well... Well yeah I guess I did..."

Anna stared at Gaius long and hard with a pout, and the thief wondered what that intense stare could have meant. And then...

"I'll take everything," Anna simply said. Gaius didn't understand for a moment until she started reaching into her purse, coming out with a heavy pouch of coins. "Everything off your stall," Anna said, making herself clear.

Gaius was stunned. What prompted this woman to buy everything off him? Sure, he'd heard that the Annas were whimsical-strong family trait, she says-but he didn't expect her to be this... random. Before he could protest, she had shoved every last thing off his stall into her sack. He'd glanced at the pouch of gold she'd left of the table. Judging by the size of it the payment should be more than enough.

"Really generous of you, Red, but I must ask, what prompted all this impulse buying?" Gaius asked.

"Oh, nothing really!" Anna answered with a smile, but Gaius thought there was a mischievous twinkle in her eye. He knew there was more to whim about this. "I'm sure I or anyone of my sisters can upsell everything anyway and make more profit off it. It's nothing, really."

_Nothing?_ Gaius raised an eyebrow. He knew something fishy was going on here. Anna seemed like the last person who'd do something for _nothing. _"Eh? Really now? You're really generous, Red, but I can't accept this. All too random for my tastes," Gaius said, pushing Anna's pouch of money back towards her.

Anna's confident smile faltered for a bit. She'd pushed the gold back to the ginger haired thief. "No, I insist. You wouldn't want Robin finding out how you peeped at a woman in her bath-"

"...So it's blackmail, isn't it," Gaius said. _Or a bribe. Blackmails and bribery-totally sounds like something sly merchant Red would do... but what for?_

"Blackmail? No, no, nothing of that sort, really!" Anna said, but with that sly grin on her face that suggested otherwise. "It really was all whim, really." And she's quickly turned her back and walked away, leaving Gaius to make a puzzled face as he stared at her go farther and farther away.

_Blackmail and bribery, eh? Babe, bring it on._

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Gaius had his shared of being bribed and blackmailed, and tricked into doing things for others. After a lot of experiences and hurt, he'd kept himself guarded over ever being used by others in ways he didn't like, and learned how to counter them. _Bubbles can say what she likes, but there's no such thing as a free lunch, no such thing as pure motives—especially from a wealthy, sly merchant like Red._ She seemed like just the person who knew how to smile and threaten a little in the name of profit.

She'd clearly expressed intent to blackmail him with her little comment of telling Robin about the whole... accident they had. _Geez, how dare she use that—it's not like she was even shocked or surprised when I stumbled there accidentally. She clearly didn't mind too much._ But now she had dirt on him, and threatened to use it. _Why _she was acting that way was beyond him—_I only saw that damned tattoo_—but now Gaius felt the need to fight back, somehow.

_If she got dirt on me, well then, I'm gonna get dirt on her too._

Which was why he'd snuck into Anna's tent one evening when he was positive she was out—assigned to the night watch. The tent was dark, but surprisingly orderly. It was easy to spot anything that could have had any incriminating Anna secrets—there was a chest right beside her bedroll, looking absolutely threatening and tempting at the same time. Threatening with its obvious sturdy, elaborate make, and tempting because any chest of that kind _obviously_ held something important...

_...Maybe it has candy? Heck, fingers crossed._

Gaius took out his tools and started working on the lock. He was experienced in many types of locks and doors by now, but the chest did not give out easy. It made sense that Anna, a _locksmith_ herself, would choose a chest that was difficult to crack. After a lot of grunting, quiet swearing, and frustration, the chest finally gave in. Gaius opened it with a sigh of relief.

But the box was underwhelming. It was filled with papers.

There were random notes and receipts... a heavy book, which upon inspection, was a book of everyone who ever owed Anna a debt... a book of sales, filled with boring numbers... some slips of paper that detailed where Anna had _private_ accounts, which was probably the best he could use as leverage—

Until he saw a journal.

He'd picked it up—it looked really beat up and old—and it seemed there was a lot written on it. The thick journal was almost full all the way through. Gaius flipped through it and stopped when he reached the first page. He gasped when he realized what the book was.

It was a diary. But there was something even more shocking.

At the very first page, the very first entry was dated from the future.

...Not just "the future", even. From waaaay ahead in the future.

Gaius was so stunned that he didn't hear footsteps drawing close. He didn't realize it until a cold draft and moonlight entered the tent, and he'd looked up and Anna was standing there by the entryway.

She gasped, seeing him there, and almost said something, until she saw just what was in his hand. She looked as stunned as he was. But then she recovered, and sighed... and shook her head to herself.

"Looks like I have no other choice then," Anna said, and drew her sword.

**End of Chapter One.**

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I hope you enjoyed reading this. This fanfic will have about four chapters, so I hope you hang around for the next chapters if you liked it so far. I wrote this out of my like for Anna. I think she's a very interesting character, and I love her to bits, but I feel like Awakening doesn't do a good job of explaining her or showing a deep side of her. Hence I wrote this fic. She may seem pretty OC here, but we are trying to delve into a deeper side of her, not the usual Anna the game shows. xD

Gaius is the supporting character because I think, if Anna had other male supports, it'd be him, that it would be natural for them to interact with each other. They're both very grounded and practical and realistic know how the world works. I think they'd understand each other fairly well. I also ship them (heh) but whether or not this fic will become romantic is still undecided.


	2. Bonds

**Chapter Two: Bonds**

"Easy there, Red..." Gaius said, almost cooing. He really didn't want it to come to this. "I really don't desire any blood to be shed over this..." but he'd put a hand to the hilt of his own sword, just as precaution.

"You know!" was all that Anna said.

"I know? About this?" Gaius said, raising the diary up for emphasis. "Really, Red, after reading a small bit I think I totally know _nothing_ and now I'm really, reaallly confused."

"Put it down!" Anna shouted, lunging after the diary, sword in hand. Gaius sidestepped quickly, causing Anna to stumble and lose balance. Out of reflex, he quickly grabbed at her, tugging at her cape and holding her in his arms to steady her.

"By Naga's scales, what is-" All of a sudden, Frederick and Robin had appeared, opening the tent flap and peeking in. Also awake for the night watch, they had heard Anna screaming, and quickly rushed to see what was the matter. They both stood there in shock, witnessing what looked like Gaius and Anna hugging, half of Anna's cape tugged down and rumpled into Gaius' fist.

Robin flushed scarlet, her brain jumping to conclusions. "Gaius?! Why are you in Anna's tent at this hour?"

_'Cause I was trying to blackmail her and attempting to steal things from her? _The truth was not a pretty excuse, and Gaius knew better to explain this whole blackmail-bribery contest of sorts that he'd gotten himself tangled in with the red haired merchant. _Bubbles so wouldn't stand for that._

"Oh dear," Anna said, turning around to face Robin and Frederick, dramatically putting a hand to her face. "...It seems I've been caught... See, I called over Gaius here for a... _private talk... if you know what I mean_. I'd been so excited I'd forgotten to keep my voice down."

"What-" Gaius almost spoke up, but Frederick cut in. "I... I see," Frederick said. Gaius turned over to him and Robin, and found himself slightly humored to see Robin as red as a beet and Frederick looking awkward as hell like he'd just swallowed a huge rock. "Well, we'll leave you, I suppose. But... keep it down." And then Frederick and Robin quickly turned away and left, as if fleeing.

_Oh gods. Frederick actually said that._ Gaius didn't know if he was angry, frustrated, confused, or found the situation utterly hilarious. "I know an excuse was necessary and all, but, really, Red? You and me, like that? Just, whoah. Didn't know you could see me in that kind of light-"

"Would you rather I get back to slicing you in half?" Anna said, threatening. She'd bent over to pick up the diary, but Gaius noticed she had abandoned her sword and left it on the ground, making him sigh a sigh of relief. It seems no blood was going to be shed tonight.

"I'd rather resume to you and me having that... _private talk_," Gaius said, not able to stop himself from joking with her. This had been a really ridiculous experience overall, and he found he was too tired to do anything but joke about it. Anna, however, just glared at him. "I'm joking!" Gaius said.

Anna sighed, and just continued to pick up her papers and logs and sorting them in her chest. She'd held onto the diary though, hugging it as if it were a fragile child. Her face was tired and sad at the same time. Gaius' face fell just staring at her. He had a feeling she was going to burst into tears anytime.

"Hey, Red... I'm sorry about all this," Gaius said. "I couldn't stand for you bribing or blackmailing me so I did this stupid thing," he admitted. Anna just ignored him, pretending not to hear. Watching her made Gaius feel bad about how he'd perceived her. Seeing Anna looking so tired, so sad... so _quiet..._ it really wasn't something he was used to. But he'd realized that perhaps-just perhaps-the money-hungry merchant who'd thought of nothing but making a profit had something dark and deep that she meant to guard.

He sighed, and slumped down to sit on her bedroll. "Hey, Anna..."

She looked up to him, if only because he didn't call her 'Red', for a change. Gaius let out a big sigh. "...Do you mind telling me about that diary?"

Her eyes narrowed at him sharply. "There are some things we're all better off not knowing about," she said.

He nodded, but then replied, "As well as there are some things that ought to be talked about because they weigh you down, so it's better to share 'em instead of locking them up... literally and figuratively." He said, glancing at the literal locked box. Anna rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, Red," Gaius said, "I promise I won't judge. I'm just gonna sit and listen." Gaius did agree that there were some secrets best not dug up, but she looked so tired and weighed down now that he'd thought perhaps some talking would do her better. That and he was really, _really_ curious about Red now.

"As if I can trust you," Anna muttered.

_Oohh boy. I guess i'mma have to borrow your trick now, Bubbles. _Gaius sighed heavily, and started taking off his cape. Anna stared at him, shocked.

"What I told Robin and Frederick was a just an excuse, you know," she said.

Gaius grinned, enjoying the shocked look on her face. "Relax, Red. No need to go all... red. Heh," he chuckled at his own pun. But then he just proceeded to pull off his glove, and another kerchief underneath it, tied around his forearm. Anna looked on curiously. He offered her his arm and showed her the brand on it.

"It's the brand they give to convicted criminals..." she whispered, recognizing the mark.

"Got it covering for a mate," Gaius explained. "It's one thing to be a criminal-gods know I'm not the prime candidate for sainthood-but it's a dead serious thing to be a _convicted _criminal. I don't regret it-too late for regrets now-but it's not something I'm totally proud of either." And he pulled his arm away and covered the mark again hastily, tying the black kerchief over, as if making his point obvious. He was never proud of it, and liked to cover it even if it was already covered by his gloves. "Now only you and Bubbles know-although she kinda just found out by accident."

Anna was quiet, trying to process all this, images of Gaius locked up in prison flashing in her mind. But why did he tell her all that? She could sell that information for a few silver pieces. She could very well use it as further leverage to blackmail him. So why...

"So you mind telling me your about your own mark, Red?" Gaius finally said, and everything clicked into place for Anna.

"You can't bribe me," she said, raising her eyebrow at him.

"Tit for tat," Gaius said.

Anna shook her head. "Sorry, Gaius, but no," she said. She then got up, holding her wooden chest in her arms, taking it with her. "I'm gonna have to go back to Robin and Frederick. Can't slack of for the evening watch. My merchant's pride won't allow me to slack off about any work." She headed for the tent's entry, pulling open the flap. "You better not still be here when I get back. And you'd best forget about anything you read, okay?"

"If you keep my secret, I'll keep yours," was all he said, and she left.

* * *

Anna walked back to the campfire, seeing Robin and Frederick seated around it, the former looking like she was about to nod off and drop right into the fire, while the latter looked wide awake, sitting there solidly like a statue. Anna took a seat beside Robin, quietly whispering, "Sorry about all that noise."

"O-Oh!" Robin said, jerking up from her position, Anna's presence startling her and jolting her awake. As soon as the tactician saw Anna, she blushed, recalling what she just witnessed. "O-Oh, Anna. You and Gaius are... err... done?"

"I guess so," Anna said, knotting her eyebrows and pouting as she thought of the way Gaius acted. What was that all about, him trying to get her to talk, and even him sharing his dark past to her?

"You know, he may act like a scoundrel, but he'll look out for you too. You're in good hands," Robin said. Anna didn't know what to think of that.

* * *

"Hey, Bubbles, about last night..." Gaius walked up to Robin early next morning, while twirling a lollipop between his fingers. Robin quickly turned to him, and smiled.

"Oh, hey, Gaius," she said. "Don't worry about it. I totally understand. I even talked to Frederick about it and realized that bonds like these could strengthen the group. The more we trust each other, the more we can fight together as one. It's all good as long as you are... err... discreet about your activities."

"Oh gods," Gaius muttered, as he got the wrong image from Robin's words. _Bonds like THAT could strengthen the group, huh... Gods._ _I wonder how many 'bonds' I should make then. _

Gaius' train of thought was interrupted when he realized Robin had been staring up at him in a studying manner. "Perhaps I should pair you up with her then? Pairs are stronger when they have strong feelings for each other-that's a fact. Very well then-from now on, Anna's your buddy. Stick with her, okay? With any luck we may even run into your future children."

_Children?! _Gaius nearly choked on his lollipop. "Excuse me?! And Anna and I haven't-"

But before Gaius could explain everything, Chrom came from the corner, needing to speak urgently with Robin. Gaius gave a sigh of defeat. _Fine. Who cares. They can think what they like, as long as I know the truth._

And he remembered Anna-her tattoo, her mysterious diary, and, when it crossed his mind, how mysterious she was overall. Sure, everybody knew who Anna was, she was Anna the Merchant, but apart from that, who else was Anna?

What was the truth?

* * *

Robin stuck true to her word, and from that day onward paired Gaius and Anna together in battles. Gaius didn't much mind. Anna was often flying off to somewhere by herself so _someone _had to keep an eye on her. Anna didn't mind much as well. She had to keep her eye on Gaius, lest he run off and start telling everyone her secrets. Reputation was a merchant's life after all.

There was one thing that Gaius found particularly amusing too. Sometimes-even in the middle of battles, Anna tended to walk off towards odd destinations. During these moments, he'd learned to just follow her wordlessly. He'd been in the thick off woods, underneath the tiles off castles, in an island in the center of a lake-all to see Anna walk off and meet with, well, another Anna. They walked into the far-off, often secluded, Anna Secret Shops.

It was always odd to see Anna right beside another Anna. The were downright identical—the way they looked down to the little mannerisms like the way they put a hand to their hip or idly placed a finger to their chin. Even their voices were downright the same, and if Gaius closed his eyes he could swear Anna, _his _Anna—no, _their _Anna—was just in a monologue with herself. But that was not the case. Everytime he happened into this scene, he'd stare at Anna, and the other Anna, wondering if there was any difference.

And then he'd just feel Anna—_their_ Anna—shoving rare weapon upon rare weapon onto his arms to carry and bring back to camp.

"So you're the almighty weapons goddess everyone keeps talking about," Gaius told her, when he first realized what this meant. In certain days, the camp would be abuzz with talk of some weapon spirit leaving rare, expensive weapons in their stocks. Sometimes they'd be left on the floor of the barracks randomly. Frederick would be caught scratching his head multiple times as he checked the inventory, wondering how the extras got there. Sometimes the weapons would have tags of who they meant to be for. Lon'qu had gotten a Killing Edge once. The quiet swordsman had been puzzled out of his wits about who could have left him such a gift.

Gaius himself found cupcakes and candies randomly left in the barracks. He'd always thought it was just some shy girl who'd been infatuated with him but was too shy to tell... but perhaps it was just Anna.

_Red couldn't possibly like me, aye? She's the last gal to be into the romance thing. Heck, all she talks of is business and money._

"This secret doesn't leave between the two of us, okay?" Anna said.

Gaius just chuckled and elbowed her slightly. "Anna the Merchant who upsells her wares by three times their original price, actually has a noble streak and spends her private savings for the Shepherds? Heh. My lips are sealed."

"It's not three times!" Anna said. And then she smiled slyly. "...Sometimes it's four."

Gaius laughed at that. She was just incurable. "Well then, Red... Secret for secret. I restock the kitchen every now and then. Buy some flour and sugar and stuff and just leave them in the chef's cupboards. An army needs a good meal, y'know."

Anna laughed at that. "But you'll be the first one to eat all the sweet treats from the pies they make, anyway." Gaius was just as incurable as her.

* * *

It wasn't all good times though.

In the thick of battle as Gaius finished off another Risen—feeling quite smug of the victory—he'd turned to Anna, who he'd been used to being perpetually by his side now during battles. "Did you see that, Red? Damn, I'm one good—Red?!"

He saw her fallen on the ground, an arrow sticking right on her back. He felt a cold shiver run over him, as he rushed to her side. Anna was still alive—thank the gods—but he'd examined the arrow and worried. The damn thing was too near her spine for his comfort. He'd looked all around, wondering where the blasted arrow came from, but then decided to pour his attention back to the wounded merchant. "Can you move, Red?"

Anna said nothing, instead just moaning and grunting in pain. She clearly was in too much pain, so Gaius made a quick decision. He pulled her up onto his back, carrying her. "I got you," he said. "Let's get Lissa to take a look at this." He then quickly looked around, spotting Stahl and Sully, who had just finished off some Risen. "I'm pulling back! Anna needs a healer!" he said. Stahl and Sully just nodded, and immediately went off to their spots, covering for them.

"Oh dear, what happened?!" Lissa exclaimed in shock, as Gaius entered the healing tent, laying Anna down carefully at the nearest cot he saw. Lisa walked right over, examining the wound. She looked closely at where the arrow was stuck, and decided it was safe to pull it out. With one big heave and a loud scream from Anna, Lissa pulled the godsdamned arrow out.

"Oh, thank heavens," Lissa said, looking at the arrow and seeing the tip was intact. "I wouldn't know what to do if I left the arrow tip inside of her."

Gaius threw Lissa a bad glare. He might have yelled and become violent towards Princess if she'd left Anna with an arrow point permanently stuck in her back.

"Good Lord," Anna moaned, sweat matting her hair and trickling down her forehead. "That... bloody... hurt..."

Lissa then proceeded to use a healing spell on Anna, effectively shutting the wound. Nothing but a thin scar remained when it was done, and Lissa took a vulnerary from her bag. "I'd best put some salve on it to make sure the scar heals as well," she said. "Thank heavens it missed her spine by a few centimeters. It may have hit some bone inside though, so take it easy for a while, Anna. Try not to lift anything too heavy."

_No shopping trips to suppliers for Red, then_, Gaius thought. And then he realized Lissa was staring at him. "Hello?!" Lissa said. "I have to rub this onto her wound! Pull her shirt up, if you know what I mean!" she said. She'd been hearing rumors that Gaius and Anna were an item—and she'd even bugged Lucina if by instance there was some future child with ginger hair—but she didn't expect Gaius to be this thick.

"N-No!" to Gaius' surprise, Anna quickly objected, trying to get up from bed, only to flinch as she felt her back hurt.

"Whoah, Red, take it easy..." Gaius said, worried for her.

"I'll do it myself," Anna said, sounding determined and insistent. She tried to reach out for the vulnerary in Lissa's hands. "R-Really! I'm okay! I can do it."

She looked anything but okay. Her breathing was heavy and she was sweating and shaking in the slightest. "It's okay," Lissa said, trying to assure her. "It's just us girls here, no need to be shy... Gaius will you just go away already?"

But Gaius stood there, trying to figure why Anna was so insistent about the vulnerary. And then it crossed his mind.

_There was that damned tattoo._

"Princess, I think..." Gaius said, walking towards Lissa and grabbing the vulnerary from her hand, "I think you ought to leave me and Red to do this, hmm?"

"W-What?!" Lissa exclaimed, blushing. _Gods. He really was a pervert._

"Just give us a moment, okay?" Gaius said.

With a pout, Lissa finally mumbled 'fine' and walked out of the tent.

* * *

"I knew what you were trying to do," Gaius said, to Anna. The red-haired merchant just lay there and said nothing. Gaius sat next to her, and lay a light hand to the hem of her shirt. "Well? Will you let me?"

Anna grunted, but blushed red as well. "F-Fine," she said. "But don't get any ideas."

"None whatsoever," Gaius said, closing his eyes even, to say that he won't peek.

Anna proceeded to shift and pull her shirt up over her head, and then laid back down. Gaius eventually opened his eyes, seeing Red lying there with her bare back turned towards him. Despite himself, he blushed. He never denied that Red was a sexy little vixen.

There were traces of blood left where the arrow had been stuck. Gaius took a damp cloth from the healing tent, gently rubbing the blood away. He then poured the vulnerary onto his fingers, gently rubbing it onto the light scar that was left on her back. His eyes travelled upward to her butterfly tattoo. She'd obviously tried to hide it from Lisa. It held a secret, and he knew it.

Suddenly he felt her shudder and moan underneath him. _Gods, that was hot. Perhaps I'd been rubbing a little too good for her tastes..._ "Hey, Red? You okay there?"

He quickly looked at her face. She obviously wasn't okay. Her face was scrunched up in an expression of pain, and he quickly held a hand to her forehead. "Godsdamn," Gaius muttered. "You're burning in fever. I'm going to get Lissa." He quickly threw the blankets and her cape over her to cover her, and went back out to look for Princess.

* * *

Anna fell into deep sleep, and hadn't come to for the rest of the day. Gaius was worried. He'd ate through half his stash of candies that day, trying to relieve the stress. _It was my fault. Should have seen the damned archer_. He paced for the rest of the day and frequently dropped in on the healing tent, trying to check if Anna had come to. Everytime he came back, Lissa would just give him a sad look at and shake her head. No progress.

Gaius dropped by soon after dinner. This time, it wasn't Lissa that was there. "Oi, Padre," Gaius said, seeing Libra.

"Gaius," Libra said, and then quickly he glanced down at Anna, still sleeping. "...She hasn't woken up yet." Lissa had told Libra all about Gaius dropping in for Anna. "Her fever hasn't improved..."

"Oh..." Gaius said, tone clear with disappointment and worry.

"Would you like to watch her for a bit?" Libra offered. "I'd like to go get a quick dinner and then be right back."

"Sure," Gaius quickly said. "No problem, Padre. Eat well." Libra then left the tent, leaving Gaius there.

The thief gave a heavy sigh, and sat down next to Anna. She looked in pain, even when she was asleep. He wasn't used to seeing her like that. Anna was always clever and smart, always with that ridiculous grin that suggested she knew something that you didn't (probably the total net worth of everything you were wearing). Pain looked uncharacteristic on her face. He held a hand out to her forehead, to check her temperature. No improvement. He sighed, and took another lollipop from his pocket. That was his last grape-flavored sucker now. All this really stressed him out.

"D-Don't leave..." Gaius nearly jumped, hearing Anna speak. He'd turned to her, and saw that she was mumbling in her sleep. "Don't... leave..." she said. She stretched her hands out a fair bit, as if reaching out to something... _someone_...

"I'm right here, Anna," he said softly to her, gently patting her hair. "Just right here." He then noticed her sword laying on the ground from the corners of his eyes. It had that silly, childish looking teddy bear plushie hanging from it's handle. He'd teased her about the stuffed toy once or twice, but now he took it from her sword, dusted it a bit, and offered it to her. "Here you go, Red. Mr. Teddy Bear's here to keep you warm." He'd placed it on Anna's hand, and he watched as Anna took it and hugged it. She was smiling now. Gaius felt himself smile as well. She was gonna be okay.

"Thanks..." Anna mumbled in her sleep. "Thanks... Jake..."

Gaius' face fell. He sat there, shocked silent, and then he got up and stormed out of the tent.

_Who in the seven hells of Ylisse is this 'Jake'?!_

**End of Chapter Two.**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

This fanfic was written with no specific time in the game in mind, that's why such details are purposely kept vague. If you've played Blazing Sword or Shadow Dragon, earlier games in the Fire Emblem series, it's obvious who Jake is. xD

Thanks to _Le Red Head Merchant_ for the review and thanks for everyone who read, faved, and followed! I should have the next chapter up pretty soon too.


	3. Only One Me

**Chapter Three: Only One Me**

* * *

Anna was dreaming.

Anna was never born well off... she remembered the small shack she lived in with her mother, with holes in the roof that leaked and sagged whenever it rained. They peddled trinkets and other things in the market to make ends meet. Her mother taught her how to sell. They were never rich, but they had enough, and when Anna grew up she found she had a big affinity for business. She started making thousands-and then ten thousands and hundred thousands. Anna was rich. Anna was _someone_.

But Anna was _alone_.

Her friends clung onto her for money, and repeatedly cheated money out of her. She'd learned that no one would ever love Anna for Anna-they'd always love Anna the Merchant. Her mother, who she used to draw strength from, had long passed away... Anna had no one and nothing but work. And money. And herself.

_And Jake..._

_I'm right here, Anna_, she heard a voice say. _Just right here._

The fears drifted away, and Anna fell into peaceful sleep.

* * *

"Morning!" Anna rubbed her eyes, seeing Lissa looking down at her enthusiastically with a big smile. "You finally came to! How's your back?"

"My back...?" Anna asked, a little puzzled, the memory not yet resurfacing. She looked down under the covers and realized she was shirtless. And she remembered-she was hit by an arrow, and Gaius carried her here, and Gaius cared for her and...

She realized her teddy bear was beside her. Someone put it to her, giving her a companion for the night. _Jake used to do that. Jake..._

"Your fever's all gone now, too," Lissa brightly said, putting a hand to Anna's neck to check once more. "This is great news! Gaius will be tickled pink. He kept checking on you yesterday. I told him to give you some time but he wouldn't stop being a worrywart."

_Gaius!_ "Where is he?"

Just as Anna asked that, the tent flap opened, and Gaius stepped in, with a small sack of goodies over his shoulder and a new lollipop in his mouth. He found Lissa grinning wide at him and turned and saw Anna up in bed, with terrible bedhead-her hair was loose and rumpled from its usual ponytail-and clutching the bedcovers to her chest. She looked _ridiculous_. _In the good way_. _...Very sexy, actually._ _I can imagine her waking up every morning looking like that..._ He broke into a wide smile. "Red. So good to have you back with us. How's the fever?"

"All gone," Lissa reported brightly. "It was all your fault! You didn't have to work her right after she was healed from a wound! No wonder she got sick!"

_Work... me?_ Anna looked puzzled, but she realized what it meant when Gaius replied. "Whoah, Princess. Watch it. I told you I did no such thing. Wouldn't do that to a wounded gal-unless she wanted it of course." Obviously the camp was still under the impression that they... err... slept together.

"Gaius, you're hopeless!" Lissa shouted.

Gaius just chuckled. "If you say so, Princess." And then he turned back to Anna. "Wanna go for a walk, Red? You could do to stretch those muscles a bit."

"Sure," Anna said. "I'll see you around... after I freshen up that is."

Gaius laughed. "You look quite charming now, if I may say so. Later!" Gaius made as if to leave, but then he remembered something. He grabbed something from his pack, and left it by Anna's side. Chocolate coins. "Something sweet to start the day right." He gave her a wink, and with that, he left.

Anna smiled as she picked up the chocolates, until she heard Lissa give a long, dramatic sigh. "Isn't that sweeeeet? Gaius has it bad for you, if I may say so."

To Lissa's surprise, Anna actually looked puzzled. "Huh? Really?" _Ridiculous. He just probably wants access to all my family's riches._

"Kept checking on you yesterday. I swear... If that isn't love right there, I don't know what it is."

_Love, huh?_

Anna's face fell to a frown. There was no 'love' of that sort for Anna. All Anna had was her money. And herself.

* * *

A week quickly passed with Anna dismissing the whole assumption that Gaius was in-love with her. A few women of the camp would tease her about it every once in a while-surely Lissa and Sumia had high hopes about it-but they were bumbling women who knew nothing but to chatter and didn't know how to work, Anna thought. Their opinions were worthless.

After a quick bath in the bathing tent, Anna passed by the tactician Robin's tent and heard the undoubted sound of clinking coins. She knew that sound from miles and miles away. She peeked into the tent, seeing Robin indeed counting gold and silver coins, sighing to herself.

"I've never seen someone look so down while counting riches," Anna told Robin, making her presence known. "...Unless the money wasn't enough."

Robin nearly shrieked from the surprise, but the recovered as she found Anna by the tent entryway. "Oh, Anna. It's you. You're actually correct... I've looked through the list of weapons and supplies everyone needed. It seems we don't have enough for all of it... there's food and other expenses to consider too."

Anna took a quick peek at the lists and papers by Robin's lap. True enough, they were shopping lists, and then accounts of their money. She knew Chrom and the Shepherds had their own fund and money to provide for the entire army but she never much cared for it. She bought her own weapons and anything she might need. No need to rely on the Shepherd's money when she can provide for herself fine, thank you. But not everyone here was as well-off as her, that was for sure... Others relied on this gold.

"I have a confession to make," Robin said, with a deep sigh. "I... I'm actually terrible with money."

"W-What?!" Anna was shocked. Robin managed the funds of all the Shepherds. Surely she had skills for handling the money. "It shouldn't be too hard. Don't you keep logs and inventory of what was bought, how much was bought, how much it cost, and when it was bought and all that?"

Robin shook her head. "Err, no. Which is how we all just end up with ten crates of eggs in the kitchen but forget to buy any cooking oil, I guess..."

"Oh dear," Anna said, frowning. Such wrong management and use of funds upset her. Something had to be done about it. She reached for Robin's weapon shopping list, and looked at the budget for all of it. _Cripes. I'd be lucky enough to buy just half of everything in this list with this sum. But Robin wouldn't do any better._

"May I take this off your shoulders?" Anna said, glancing at the list and the funds set aside for it. "I know a few suppliers in the area."

Robin's face lightened up. Anna was well-known for her haggling skills and if she couldn't do it, nobody could. "Thanks, Anna!" she gave the merchant a hug. "It's so nice to have you around."

* * *

"Going shopping?" A voice greeted as soon as Anna stepped out of Robin's tent. Anna made a surprised little jump and saw that it was just Gaius, leaning against a nearby tree.

"Stalker!" Anna told him, making her shock clear. But the word was fitting, now that she thought of it. Ever since Gaius had run into her bathing, he'd stuck close to her as if she was made of honey. Well, there were Robin's official orders to consider, but outside of battle, he tended to gravitate towards her, too.

But Anna didn't mind too much. With him, she didn't feel so... _alone_.

Gaius just laughed at her quip, and said, "Sorry, I overheard. Need an extra pair of arms? Can't have you overexerting that back too much."

"Oh dear, don't make me sound like an old lady," Anna said. "But fine, tag along. But keep information about my suppliers a secret, you hear?"

* * *

Anna had been wandering in the town marketplace for a few good minutes, pouting and making puzzled faces as she walked around town, muttering about suppliers. Gaius followed her closely behind, unwrapping a candied fig.

Anna's face lit up, spotting what she was looking for. Gaius followed her curiously to a home that had various charms and amulets hanging by the door and windows. The windows were all shut close and the place had no signs-Gaius felt inclined to think that a witch lived inside.

Anna knocked at the door, but was greeted with a "We don't open until dark!" Anna simply laughed, and said, "It's Anna!"

There was a long silence. And then the door was opened, a woman with stark black long hair and tons of jewels greeting Anna with a smile. "Well why didn't you say so? Welcome."

* * *

Gaius walked into the shop, looking at the place lined with shelves stacked with books, potions, and magical artifacts all over. There were even rare, gross odd things-eyeballs and skulls and frog legs and strands of hair sealed shut in gel-like substance inside bottles. Gaius shuddered. _Note to self-never tell Tharja or Henry about this place._

"So is this Anna my acquaintance from the Tellian wars, or my Anna from the Hero King's time? Or another Anna? I can never really tell with you sisters," the shopkeep with a ridiculous amount of jewelry on said. Gaius took a good look at all the gold around her arms and her neck and her fingers, assessing their value. If he took all that and sold it, he'd have a full candy stock for two months tops.

He barely noticed the way Anna's smile fell for a second, as she answered, "Unfortunately I am none of those acquaintances of yours. I'm... Anna. Just... Anna."

Gaius put a hand to Anna's shoulder. "You're _our_ Anna. Anna of the Shepherds."

Anna didn't know how to feel about that.

"Well, that Anna or this Anna, it hardly matters, you're all one and the same. Feel free to look around and tell me what you've decided on. I also have weapons and armor from Muston in the back, if you'd like to check it," the shopgirl said.

Anna simply nodded and walked to one end of the store, toward the shelves lined with tomes, looking down at Robin's list. Gaius stood his position for a while, thoughtfully chewing on his fig. "Hey, Jewels," he called on the shopkeep. The woman didn't know he was talking to her, until he spoke on. "You've known Anna for a while?"

The shopgirl turned to Gaius, a little surprised as if she'd just then noticed his existence. But then she answered him anyway. "I suppose. The Annas and I go way back. We both run shops, but consider ourselves partners. Some friendly competition does one good after all."

"What, so you got identical sisters and a long family line of merchants, too?" Gaius asked, puzzled. _Why were these merchants such puzzling creatures?_

"No, no," the shopgirl said. "Unlike Anna, there's only one me."

He was completely startled by the answer that he took a step back to look at the shopgirl who was now smiling at him slyly. She said she'd been around since the time of King Marth. "Jewels, you'd have to be over thousands of years-"

The shopgirl smiled wider and raised a brow at him. Gaius felt a chill run down his spine and an eerie gut feel kick into him. Higher magics were at work here-and the frog legs and skulls hanging all over the place made it feel worse. He decided not to press on the question of age any further.

But Gaius had another question.

"You ever know some lad named Jake?" He said, trying to sound casual about it, but the truth was the question ate him from the insides, and he had been trying to gather the guts to ask Anna herself the question for a week. He worried what she would say—but knowing Anna she would probably just evade the question.

The shopgirl's eyes twinkled. She knew something.

"You mean Anna's lover?"

_Anna's lover._ Gaius felt his chest hurt. _Lover, huh..._ "So is he some dude with hundreds of identical brothers and such as well?"

The shopgirl shook her head. "Jake? No. They're never the same. But somehow, someway, there's always a Jake for an Anna. Whether he's a pirate, or a soldier, or a ballistician... There's always a Jake together with an Anna in any point in time. It's like... destiny, I suppose. One of the pre-written dictates of fate."

_Destiny and fate, huh_. Gaius was frowning now. I should have never asked. The truth was, he'd taken a seat with Owain one lunch and asked if there was a kid—some kid out there in the future—who had red or ginger hair and a terrifying obsession for money or sweets. He didn't know how he'd feel if there was one—but he definitely felt worse when Owain said, after much dramatic prose, that they knew no one like that. _Perhaps this wasn't fated? I wasn't written into her destiny and all that crap?_

All this was made worse when the shopgirl suddenly asked:

"Are you her Jake?"

"No," Gaius quickly responded, then choosing to walk away and help out Anna, who had pulled out a stack of tomes as tall as her.

_I'm Gaius. And there's only one me._

* * *

The shopping trip ended a success, thanks to Anna having some odd silver-colored card that made the shopgirl groan in defeat as if she'd just seen terrible evidence against her existence. The price was slashed at half off. And then Anna went even further by presenting the shopgirl with information about a certain swordsman with blue hair who supposedly descended from the line of the Tellian Hero, Ike. The price was slashed to three-quarters in total, under the condition that Anna and Gaius could borrow the shop's cart to load all the items on, and later the shopgirl could go to the Shepherd's camp to retrieve it and have an 'accidental' run-in with said swordsman...

_Note to self-warn Priam against black-haired witch who probably has an obsession as bad as Tharja's_.

Anna and Gaius finally reached the camp, and headed straight to the supplies tent. No one else was there, so they took it upon themselves to unload the weapons and sort them all nicely.

"So that woman in the shop is..." Gaius began, in an attempt to start a conversation.

"Probably immortal," Anna said, much to Gaius' surprise. "She's been around since forever, according to my sisters and ancestors. Hardly ages as well."

Gaius has guessed as much, but frowned a bit. He wanted to hear that Jewels was a liar, a really chronic liar, and that Anna wasn't destined to find some guy named Jake and fall in-love with him.

_Heck, maybe there already was some Jake out there who had her heart._

"Gaius?" Anna turned to the thief, noticing he had fallen silent.

Gaius shrugged and shook his head, as if to say it was nothing. And then he asked, "...You're not immortal too, are you, Red?"

Anna laughed. "Of course not. I age pretty normally, thank you very much. If there was a fountain of youth or miracle youth tonic, I'd have invested my coins in that and sold it long ago."

_Well, at least that was a relief._

**End of Chapter 3.**

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

This chapter was relatively shorter than the last, sorry it's sorta slow and uneventful? For those who hadn't played earlier FE games like Path of Radiance or Radiant Dawn, the shopgirl is Aimee, a recurring FE merchant that has also been in almost all the games. She has a strong obsession over Ike, Priam's ancestor. Instead of multiple Aimees over the course of time, I like to think Aimee instead just has a long lifespan. Jake is a recurring FE character who's always in a relationship with Anna. However, Jake is never the same person.

This fanfic has really been destressing me from work, so I may extend it beyond my original plans. Just. Gaius x Anna OTP. So many scenes that I wish could have happened! It may take me a day or two (or not) for me to post the next chapter because my work has piled up again lately. D:

Thanks for reading!


	4. Picture of the Truth

**Chapter Four : A Picture of the Truth**

Anna watched enviously as Tharja ran off towards the Hotrealms beach in her tight bikini, joining the others who were already playing and swimming in the waters. Days had passed and her sisters,feeling generous, had given the Shepherds free access to one of their properties, the Hotrealms beach. But knowing her and her sisters there was probably more to it than that... Perhaps it was the Risen problem. The resort was attacked by Risen, and the Shepherds had no choice but to jump into action. When all was through and done with the filthy Risen, everyone excitedly ripped off their heavy armors and shirts and changed into their bikinis and trunks. Anna watched amused for a moment as Chrom berated Frederick for the scandalous piece of swimwear that were his swim trunks, embroidered with the mark of the Exalt right smack in the middle of the behind. For all of Frederick's stiffness, he certainly had interesting fashion choices, for Chrom at least.

That aside, Anna just sat in the sand, fully clothed save her ridiculous cape. She just sat, and watched everyone.

..._I'd like to go for a bit of a swim_... Anna thought, until an ice popsicle was shoved towards her. She looked up and saw Gaius, holding the iced treat towards her, shirtless and slightly dripping from an earlier dip in the waters.

"Red. I know I'm one sexy devil and you're enjoying what you see, but at least take the popsicle before you stare, hmm? It's melting."

Anna reached out for the popsicle, but also couldn't help but poke at Gaius' belly. "Baby fat," she said.

"Hey! It's not that bad!" Gaius said, taking a seat on the sand beside the red-haired merchant. _Note to self-do an extra two set of sit-ups daily. from now on._

They sat there in silence for a while, eating their popsicles. When Gaius was through with his, he finally asked her, "Aren't you gonna join us for a bit? Everyone's asking me why you don't want to join us. This is your family's resort, after all. Heck, even Lon'qu was convinced to swim-as long as women stay at least twenty feet away from him."

Anna chuckled a bit, seeing said swordsman yelling, swearing, and quickly backing away and falling into the water as he'd seen a blonde drawing near him. When Lon'qu recovered, he turned red when he realized it was Libra-and not Lissa or some other blonde with long hair. Anna laughed. The Shepherds can be very funny sometimes.

"I'd like to see you in-what did they call it?-yeah, a bikini. I'd like to see you in a bikini too."

Anna was surprised by the bold statement Gaius suddenly made. She quickly looked up at Gaius and found him blushing red. She blushed too, at the implication that Gaius wanted to see her wearing... that.

But Anna just sighed in response and quickly rubbed her back, as if that explained it. Gaius caught this movement and realized what it meant.

"...I don't want my sisters to see it," Anna simply said.

"...Oh," was all that Gaius could say to that. He remembered the other Anna of the Hotrealms, dressed in that scandalous bikini-she had no tattoos. _His_-no, _their_ Anna was likely the only one who had a mark, and perhaps her family frowned at it. He looked down at his own blasted tattoo on his forearm. At least he could cover it with fabric pretty easily. It's not like he could just wrap fabric all over Red's back to hide it...

"I'm sorry I don't get to indulge your fantasy of seeing me in a bikini though," Anna said, teasing.

Gaius smiled. "Well, I've seen you in far less..."

Anna playfully shoved Gaius on his side, laughing.

Soon, Gaius got up, and Anna thought he'd head back to the waters to join the other Shepherds, but to her suprise, he quickly grabbed at her, lifting her up in his arms.

"Gaius?! Gaius what are you-?!" Anna struggled, but stopped when she felt Gaius staggering with her weight. And then she realized that Gaius was walking towards the sea, where the Shepherds were all looking up at them, smiling and laughing and cheering.

"Gaius-"

"Someone was asking me where Anna is? Well here she is!" Gaius said, to their allies, who all cheered and laughed and clapped their hands at the sight of Gaius carrying Anna all the way to them. Anna blushed and panicked, but at the same time... felt happy. The Shepherds were looking for her, and were worried about her. They wanted her to join in the fun. They... They cared.

But then all of a sudden she felt Gaius shift her weight in his arms, and she feared what was to come. "Gaius, I'm still wearing my boooooooo-!"

And with a grin, the ginger-haired thief threw her into the water, boots and all.

"G-Gah!" Anna felt salt water enter her nose and her ears and felt irritated as she floated in the seas. But then Lissa unceremoniously splashed water towards her, and Henry glomped at her, and she did the natural thing to do-forget about the damn boots and play with them.

Gaius smiled to himself, watching Anna laughing with the others, before Vaike tackled him into the water and Lon'qu-he swore the damned swordsman had a thing against him-placed a bug on his shoulder. He would never live down the day that all the Shepherds, Anna included, looked at him in shock when he screamed like a girl because of a tiny bug.

* * *

Gaius' decision to throw Anna into the water along with the other Shepherds didn't seem like such a good thing when evening came. Anna hung her clothes-trousers, shirt, gloves, boots-on a makeshift clothesline near the campfire... which Frederick was keen on keeping stacked high. Every other minute it seemed, the Ylissean knight would wonder off into the Hotrealm forests or walk the shores of the beach and come back with branches for kindling. Anna's sister, Anna, had expressed concern that Frederick was off to cause a forest fire. _Well,_ _let's hope not._

Anna changed into a red shirt and a pair of shorts, looking on at her Trickster clothes that had no hope of drying in the morning. She shook her head to herself. _Silly Gaius..._ Said ginger-haired thief sat across the campfire, being forced by Cordelia to mend the holes in his shirt. Well, he was being punished enough. Gaius sewed on, eyebrows in a furious knot. Anna chuckled at little at the sight, but then caught herself.

She really was thinking of Gaius way more than she should. While she used to shrug aside what everyone else in the camp said about her and Gaius, now Anna found she was thinking of him a little too much... He was a big part of her life now, and all the Shepherds treated them as if they were married-telling Gaius if they needed something to get to Anna, and vice versa.

Anna frowned. Surely it couldn't be love? Not from her, neither from Gaius. Relationships were transactional. You stayed because you had a benefit from it. And Gaius was a low-level thief with barely any ambition...

Gaius raised up his shirt, patched perfectly with even sewing, smirking proudly at his handiwork. Anna found herself smiling as well. Yet at the same time, Gaius was impressively skilled and smart-whether it was with sewing or baking or metalworking or information trade. He wasn't rich, but he was widely skilled. His skills could benefit any business... He had little to no ambition, but that was because he cared for others instead, even opting to do the dirty work in the shadows so others could just focus on being the heroes and saving the day. Gaius was nobler than many rich men that Anna had seen...

But Anna frowned again, as she decided to head into her tent and call it a night. Good intentions never made anyone rich. Merchants needed fame, fortune, and reputation. And sadly, Gaius had none of that.

* * *

She felt something poke at her cheek. Poke. Poke. Anna swatted it away drowsily, thinking it was a bug.

Poke. Poke. "Hey, Red."

...Did someone just call her... Anna opened her eyes quickly, and scrambled out of her bedroll as soon as she saw Gaius sitting there beside her. "G-Gaius! What are you doing in my tent?! What if someone saw you?!"

"Well, they were already thinking it ages ago anyway," Gaius said. And then he started getting up, pulling up Anna by the arm. "C'mon now, Red. You shouldn't doze off too much-you'll get fat that way, you know."

"Excuse me?!"

"Humor the tourist, will you, Red? I wanna see more of the beach before we go off on our merry ways back to fighting those vile Risen."

Despite herself, with a big moan, Anna pulled herself out of bed. Too late in the evening for this. There was work that needed to be done in the morning, wares to sell and all... "Just for a few minutes, right?!"

"Yup," Gaius said, "that's all I ask."

* * *

The breeze was rather gentle as Anna and Gaius almost aimlessly walked by the beach shore. Anna only followed Gaius, curious to see where the thief was getting at. But Gaius seemed to have nothing in mind in particular. They talked, teased, and laughed as they usually did. Nothing special.

"And-Gah!" Gaius screamed a little, nearly tripping over something in the sand. "What the hell is this?" He bent down and picked up a soaking, rectangular object of some sort.

Anna looked on curiously at it, and lit up when she realized what it was. She took the item and patted it a bit, hoping the water left it a bit intact. "It's a Snapshot tome," Anna explained. "One of our very own creations! Wonder why it's here though. Perhaps my sister threw it out?"

Gaius watched most curiously as Anna shook and poked and examined at the box-like thing, as if testing to see if it was alright. "You call this thing a tome? It's not even a book, mind you."

Anna sat down on the sand, still examining the contraption and pressing little buttons on it. Gaius sat beside her, just noting how much of a tinkerer she was, too. Anna was just as good as him at locks and doors, too. _It made sense that she'd know how to use her hands. ...I wasn't thinking of that in a perverted way of course._

"What does a... 'Snap shot' even do?" Gaius asked. "Does it shoot some sort of arrow?"

Anna laughed. "No, silly! It... well, I suppose let's try this thing and show you." To Gaius' surprise, Anna suddenly scooted closer to him. And then she held the box-contraption thing in her hand and pulled it back, so that it overlooked them. Gaius looked confused. Anna was just looking at the thing while smiling.

"Anna?" Gaius was so confused he'd forgotted to call her 'Red'. "What is this supposed to do? Why did you turn it towards us? Is it gonna shoot a bunch of nasty things?"

"Just look at it and say 'cheese'!" Anna said, staying still and holding her position-still smiling at the silly contraption and holding it up.

Gaius just decided to follow the merchant and look at the thing. But he didn't like cheese. "Sugar?" he said instead. And the moment he said that, Anna pressed a button on the object, causing a sharp flash of light that made Gaius wince. _Ouch. What was that all about? Was that some sort of weapon against enemies?_

The thief rubbed at his eyes and opened them again to see Anna giddily looking at the box. A piece of paper was slipping out of it from a slot it had. Gaius peered over at it. It had an image of him and Anna-sitting on the beach sands, him looking puzzled and frustrated while Anna had a wide grin on her face with her finger to her lip. The signature Anna pose.

"This is-this is you and me!" Gaius looked at the photo, surprised. "It made a picture of you and me? Just... whoah." He stared on at it in wonder. He always heard Annas were great merchants and inventors but he didn't expect them to be this great. He stared on at the picture. He realized his hair was looking messy and that stubble of facial hair that was growing on his chin did not look flattering. No wonder Cordelia always told him to clean up.

Gaius took the contraption from Anna's hand. "Let's take another one!" He held the 'Snapshot Tome' away from them to take a picture, and then draped an arm around Anna, pulling her close. Anna didn't seem to mind. She settled into her usual pose and Gaius pressed on the button, the flash going off, and another picture printed.

Gaius and Anna giggled over their photos, Anna savoring the fascinated look on Gaius' face. _Material objects could make people happy in that way, too._ Gaius was tinkering with the contraption shaking it and trying to figure how it worked. It was just amazing-the thing just made instant pictures! Was that even possible? It was beyond its time, he hasn't heard of anyone-

He suddenly looked up to Anna, surprising the merchant. "Did this come from the future?" he asked.

The question was blunt, and Anna was surprised by it. "W-what?" she said, shocked. She moved away from Gaius, wrapping her arms to herself. "Gaius, why are you asking that?"

"Because I read something from that journal of yours and I thought-"

"T-That's silly," Anna said, flustered. "Are you hearing yourself? Do you think anyone from the future would go back in time just to sell a bunch of contraptions?"

Gaius thought of it. "...Actually that sounds like something the Annas would do."

"Well I am not like any of the other Annas-"

"I know," Gaius quickly butted in, grabbing onto Anna's hand before she could storm off and walk away, as she always avoided questions about her. "I know," Gaius said again, more softly now, as of assuring her. "You're a special snowflake. But will you answer one of my questions, for once?"

Gaius should be forbidden from using that soft, pleading tone. How could you say no when he asks like that? Anna sat back besides Gaius with a heavy sigh. She took the Snapshot Tome from his hands, and looked down at it.

"There are bigger and better cameras in the future," she said, almost just murmuring.

"...There are what?" Gaius asked, surprised. Anna was talking about it. Anna was talking about it.

"Cameras," Anna said, more audibly now. "...It's what they call this over there."

"I-I see..." Gaius said, now with eyebrows knitted as his brain jumped off into other questions about the redhaired merchant. _So she really was from ahead in time. Did she travel back, like Lucina and the rest? Why? Was there someone to save?_

_Jake maybe?_

"...So... all you Annas are from ahead in time?" Gaius dared to ask. She might answer.

Anna gave a slight shrug. She really didn't know why she was talking-it was all whim maybe-but perhaps it was Gaius. He always makes me do stupid things and cloud my decisions... "No, not exactly. There's only one Anna from there, possibly. My sisters call her the 'Original Anna'. They say she passed down to us lots of books and knowledge from both the future and the past. That's why we're versed in the events way back and far ahead. There was one Anna who paved the way for all of us. ...Of course she's probably a myth, though." Anna said, with a little mysterious smile.

One Anna travelling back from ahead of time, passing on knowledge to all her descendants... Sounds like a long history. Gaius frowned. This was all too much for him to swallow and he couldn't bet on it being real. But that was probably how Chrom felt when he saw an all-grown Lucina before him.

"...And do you believe all this?" Gaius asked Anna importantly.

Anna just smiled glumly. "...All my sisters say that the Original Anna is real, and is probably roving somewhere, thinking of more ways to profit. They say she she can be identified by the butterfly tattoo on her back."

Gaius was shocked silent.

And then Anna got up, exhaling loudly. "Whew. Doesn't it feel sort of humid? Shall we go take a swim?" And she peeled off her red shirt, leaving her in her smallclothes. Gaius just stared at her back, slack-jawed. He stared at her butterfly tattoo.

* * *

A/N

Gaius discovers the meaning of 'selfie'

I bet if he were in this time he'd post selfies and

lots of #foodporn.

"I just ate the best candy in my life. #sweets #candy #foodporn #sorrynotsorry "

short update is short


	5. Misunderstood

Anna was from the future. Anna was the _Real_ Anna, the one who left her world and her future and her whole life to go back in time for...for what? She had that butterfly tattoo. Did it mark who she really was? No wonder she said she was never close with any of her sisters. She was always different, and she knew it.

But there were times when Anna's confidence wavered, too. Then what was the tattoo? A fake she'd put on her back to give her confidence and an identity? Gaius stared at her back walking into the waters. He only snapped from his thoughts when he realized that Anna had taken off her shorts, leaving her in nothing but smallclothes.

Gaius blushed. _Dammit, Red's got a good-looking behind... Gods, what am I saying?! _

"Anna!" Gaius got up, calling out to the girl as he watched her go farther and farther away. He worried a bit. She seemed shaky after she'd revealed that secret to him. He stepped towards the end of the beach, cursing a bit when he felt the cool water hit his feet. If he waded in there, his clothes had no hope of drying for the morning march tomorrow...

"Gods, I can't believe I'm doing this..." Gaius muttered, as he pulled off his shirt and threw it to the sand. He stared down at his trousers. _Heavens, they were going to take forever to dry now._

"Red, are you really just crazy or are you really just crazy?" Gaius scolded as he finally jumped into the water and reached Anna, grabbing a hold of her shoulder. "You can't go swimming late at night in your smallclothes!"

"Oh please, I'd do it naked if you weren't around," Anna said, teasing, instantly causing the thief to blush. Anna caught sight of it, surprised that Gaius was embarassed. They usually joked with innuendo anyway, and they hadn't been bothered by it...

"That sounds waaay easier to deal with when you're not saying it wet and half-naked," Gaius pointed out. His gaze had involuntarily fallen to Anna's chest. _Sweet mother_ of _honey glazed buns._

Anna noticed where his eyes went and readily blushed, turning her back towards him. Gaius was getting bolder and bolder these days, frequently asking for her time and attention, and readily flirting with her. She hadn't expected this much boldness, though. And then she nearly jumped out of her skin as she felt his fingertips brush along her bare back, giving her goosebumps.

He had reached out to her tattoo, staring at it.

She meant to raise her voice at him and reprimand him, but he beat her to speaking. "So... You're the Anna of all Annas, you mean to say," Gaius said, starting with his conclusion. Anna could actually totally be lying-not unusual for Red, typical merchant thing to do after all-but of course it could be true, 'coz who would lie about this?

She could feel his fingertips on her back, and then, rather abruptly, he drew her into him. So abruptly she crashed into him a bit, her face buried into the hollow of his neck. "Always fond of playing the spectator, aren't we, Bubbles?" Gaius said, calling out to the shore.

_Wait... Bubbles?_ Anna turned around, facing the shoreline. She could see slight movement behind some trees and bushes. "C'mon, Robin, come on out or else I'll be forced to give you a show more awkward than this," Gaius said, with a smirk in his voice. He reached out to Anna, putting an arm around her waist and drawing her in. "Let's give Robin something to get flustered about, hmm?" There was a sparkle of mischief in his tone.

"W-Well," Anna was slightly speechless. Gaius was pulling her in too close for comfort, and while normally the two of them would have been totally comfortable with this sort of prank-Robin did have a funny habit of catching people in awkward situations, and her reactions to them were priceless-this time, Annna felt herself... get warmer. Perhaps being wet and half naked together doesn't do much good after all.

I _wonder how my sister Anna even manages_ to _sell wares while_ in a _bikini._

There was a yelp and a rustle from behind the bushes, until a figure was pushed out, revealing himself in the moonlight. Inigo scratched his head as Robin revealed herself, pointing at the mercenary. "It was his fault!" Robin said. "It was his idea to pause from gathering firewood to... err... watch you two."

"That was not how I phrased it!" Inigo retorted. "I rather suggested we ought to be quiet and not disturb them!"

Anna and Gaius stared at Robin expectantly, as if waiting for an explanation. The tactician's eyes were downcast, remembering the initial shock of the sight of Gaius and Anna in the water... with their clothes scattered all over at the shores. Robin turned beet red when her mind involuntarily made conclusions.

Gaius smirked, and held a hand around Anna, resting his hand just on her tattoo so he covered it. "Hey. You seem to have caught me and Red in a... sensitive position... if you know what I mean," he said, then winking.

That was all it took and Robin looked like she would faint. "R-Right! Excuse me!" Robin said, fleeing the scene out of embarassment. She'd left behind the firewood she was supposed to be carrying, but Inigo bothered to pick it all up.

"Robin! Don't just leave these behind! Frederick will kill us!" Inigo bent down, hurrying to gather the stray firewood in his arms. As he was doing it, his eyes turned towards the sea again-to Anna. And Gaius noticed it, instinctively drawing Anna closer, as if declaring his possession over a property. Anna, surprised at this, gasped a bit, while Inigo only gave Gaius a sheepish smile. _Dude's got no shame._ Unlike Robin, he made nothing of seeing the two in the water, clothes strewn all over the beach. Nothing at all.

Gaius made no effort to conceal the scowl on his face. But Inigo just gave him a small smile, and then got up and left, carrying the firewood in his arms. _Well... what was that?_

Gaius just blinked. "...Bubbles needs to get married," he suddenly said, a conclusion, remembering how Robin went beet red at the sight of them. "I mean how does she think those future children came about?"

Anna smiled, but then pulled away from Gaius, shying away from him. Gaius couldn't stop himself frowning-usually Anna wasn't one to be too worried about personal space. Sweet talking, flirtation included, was never too new to Red. She wasn't even fazed by me seeing her bathing. She clearly didn't mind stripping to her smallclothes in front of me... So when she pulled away, it caused a bit of an ache.

"There's actually something I've been meaning to tell you, Red..."

Anna looked up to Gaius, questioning. "Yes?"

_This is it. Just damn tell her. I have feelings for you. I'm falling for you._ Gaius knew he had to say it. He had to know if he had a shot at this.

But... There was no future here. Gaius knew it. A handful of the children of his comrades showed up, and they mostly knew each other-there was no kid with an appaling affinity for money-making and candy-hoarding. There hasn't even been mention of him or her... they perhaps went along their merry ways, dying separately, with someone else...

"Gaius? What was it?" Anna asked again, finally snapping Gaius to his senses.

"Nope. 'Twas nothin'" Gaius said, forcing on a smile.

"Are you sure?" Anna asked, slightly worried. She'd seen the crestfallen look that fell on his face for a moment. She knew that 'nothing' was a lie.

"Yuuup," he said, as convincingly as he can. "Nothing except asking you when you intend to get out of here. The water's ice cold. Let's head back to camp and get some rest."

* * *

She shivered as soon as she got on the shore.

"And this was why I told you this was a bad idea," Gaius said, staring down at his own trousers that were soaked. He picked up his shirt, dusting all the sand that was on it, and was about to get a head start walking back to camp when he managed to get a look at Anna.

Her hair was dripping wet, her body still glistening from the water. She was holding onto her shirt, about to put it on, until he stopped her. "Wait," Gaius said. He took her shirt from he hands and replaced them with his. "Put this on instead, so your shirt doesn't get wet."

Anna looked down at Gaius' shirt, which he offered. "Are you sure?"

"Go ahead," he said. "Wouldn't want you to have nothing to wear tomorrow."

Anna knew a good deal when she heard it, and slipped on his shirt over herself. It looked quite oversized on her, but Gaius couldn't help but stare.

For some reason it was much, much sexier than seeing her in a bikini.

* * *

The next day, a very flustered Robin stood right out by Anna's tent. "Anna, I am so, SO sorry about last night-"

Anna got up, yawning and groggy, as the tactician had interrupted her sleep. She opened the tent flaps and flinched at the light, narrowing her eyes so she could take a good look at Robin.

Robin, however, has turned beet red and was now backing away from Anna. "I-I'm sorry!" Robin apologized loudly. "I didn't know you two-I don't mean to interrupt! Gods, why do I have the worst luck running into people in awkward situations?!"

Anna was confused for a bit, wondering why Robin was acting that way, until she looked down at herself and saw that the had slept in Gaius' shirt, since he insisted she just return it in the morning. The color on Robin's face clearly spelt that she misunderstood this... again. "Robin, this is-"

"I am so sorry! I'm going to give you two some privacy now!" Robin quickly said, interrupting Anna, and then quickly making an exit. Anna just yawned, still too sleepy to care. She looked down on the shirt she was wearing. It smelled like candy.

* * *

A/N: I'm trying to get back in the swing of writing this, and finally got ideas and got over my writer's block. For now I just wrapped up the last set of events. We will move onward soooon. Got some inspiration on how to wrap up the whole story.

Robin has the worst luck running into people.


	6. Put a Ring on It

**Chapter Six: Put a Ring on It**

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I-I have a SON?!"

The loud, shocked exclamation could have been heard from the other side of the camp. Gaius himself stepped away from the oven for a moment, peeking at the scene not too far away. Chrom was scratching his head while introducing a young man to Lon'qu. A young man claiming to be his future son.

Lon'qu was red up to his ears. Gaius sniggered. The Feroxi swordmaster couldn't even be forced to touch the tips of a woman's fingers. What more making children? That, and Lon'qu wasn't married at all—or at least that's what everyone knew. Clearly Lon'qu was confused, looking uncharacteristically panicked. Gaius was grinning now. _This is so damn funny._

"…That's exactly how I expected you to react. You haven't changed at all," the young man sharing Lon'qu's dark hair color said.

"But I haven't even…"

The young, masked man was frowning now—ohh, that was a rather very-Lon'qu frown, Gaius noted, _he is definitely his son —_and took off a ring from his fingers, offering it to Lon'qu. "Go," he said. "Propose to her. This was the ring you gave her."

Lon'qu, still blushing from embarrassment, bit his lip in frustration. Gaius saw him put a hand inside his trouser pocket, as if feeling for something that was in there. "Tch. No need for that," Lon'qu said, almost grudgingly. "I already have one—the same one." And he stormed off and went to find Cherche, muttering about how he had been trying to take it slow and find the right timing. But, alas, he practically had no choice now.

Gaius smiled, amused at Lon'qu's expense. He turned back to the oven, peeking at the fruit pie that he was baking. At least Gaius knew that he probably wouldn't have full-grown "children" popping up on him and calling him dad.

…Perhaps his future wasn't here. He went off as soon as the campaign was over and Grima was defeated, went back on his merry way as a brigand, spent his entire life with nothing but candy and sweets. If completely honest, Gaius was not overly fond of children—and felt rather weirded out seeing these "children" in their camp who were not much younger than their parents. But at the same time, not having some ginger-haired mini-me trailing him at camp made him sad.

…_It means I have no future here._

"H-Holy cripes!" Gaius was startled from his deep thoughts when he noticed smoke coming out of the oven. Panicked, he immediately put on some mittens and recovered his pie from inside. The thing looked… not bad… just… rather… _terribly_ _browned_ on top. …Stahl and Panne would probably still have a go at it. …_Probably_.

"Gaius, I thought I smelled smoke-Oh." Chrom dropped by, checking in on Gaius. He was stunned though as he saw around five burnt pies in the trash basket, and one more on the table, looking like Ricken just cast an Arcfire on it. "I-Is anything wrong?" Chrom asked, confused. Gaius' baking skills were exemplary, and yes, sometimes he'd bake twelve pies in one day in claims that they are for his weekly stash, but none of them ever ended up burnt. This was unusual.

"Nothing wrong, Blue, nothing wrong," Gaius said, waving the smoke away from the oven with his hands. "Just… Just not my lucky day." _All that thinking about the future is bad for my sanity._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Hey, Anna, about that shirt I lent you..." Gaius walked straight into Anna's tent, but was surprised to find it in quite the disarray. Various papers with sketches and illustrations were all over the tent flooring, Anna in the middle of all of it, finger to her chin. Gaius looked carefully at the papers.

They were _ring _designs.

"Red? What's all this fuss? Getting married?" He asked, although he was positive her answer was no, and that this was some merchant-related endeavour instead.

"Since our campaign is drawing near its close, the sales on engagement rings have been going up," Anna said matter-of-factly. "Of course I have to be on top of the competition. I'll have to figure which rings are great to produce and put on the top shelves-oh, that looks gorgeous." Anna picked up a photo of a silver ring with a purple gem on it. "Hmm... is this too forward? Too different from the classic? Hmm..."

He was right-this was totally some merchant-y endeavour. "For a moment there I thought you meant to buy yourself a ring," Gaius said.

"It has to be something you can afford on a soldier's pay... And Gaius, marriage and the merchant life don't mix. I'd hate to drag some poor sap to and fro the entire world, selling wares, finding suppliers, and opening an unattended chest here and there."

"…Actually doesn't sound far from how I live," Gaius muttered, without thinking. He paused when he thought of how much implication that statement held—but it was the truth. He was a brigand and thief who went wherever the next job took him. He had no loyalty or position, unlike Chrom and the other knights. Wandering the land, selling wares? He'd put up a stall and sell his "acquired" goods every now and then too. He imagined another man probably not being able to put up with Anna's lifestyle, but he imagined that he could.

…_Gods, enough of these thoughts. They're going to get me nowhere._

"You know, you could give some sort of reassuring flattery that I probably will get married and there's some man out there for me, instead of giving that pitiful pained look you're wearing now," Anna suddenly said, snapping Gaius from his senses.

"W-What? Me, looking pitiful? No," Gaius said, shaking his head. He zoned out there more than he should. "Anyone would marry a beautiful girl with savings like yours, Anna."

Anna blanched, and Gaius realized how tactless what he said was. _Why can I not do anything right today?! Argh!_

Anna just blinked at him, looking wary and critical. "Of course," she said, her tone now sharp. "He'd just have to bum around and eat candy and bonbons while I worked myself tired managing my assets."

_I can think of some "assets" of yours that I'd love to manage—wait, what the heck?! Stop being so stupid today, Gaius!_ "Well, I'm not going to be _that _type of husband, excuse you!" he retorted.

"Says the man who steals to fund his candy addiction."

"You can't berate me for this—you have a sister who gave me seaweed when she said it was candy!"

"That was my sister—that wasn't me!"

The tent flap opened a bit and Kellam peeked in. "Uhm? Hello? Are you guys okay? I heard shouting…"

"Oh, you're all the same…" Gaius said, continuing the argument, not noticing Kellam. "Strong family resemblance and all that. And who says I even _want_ to get married?"

"You're _never _getting married!" Anna said, unaware that she was already shouting. "Who'd want to marry a poor, unemployed bloke like you? You'd never earn enough for a family!"

Gaius gasped, taken aback. That one stung. "Well, at least I'm not a poor soul who only thinks about money, unlike _you!_" He then stormed out of the tent. "And give me my shirt back!"

Anna got up and grabbed said shirt, and threw it after Gaius, hitting him on the head. Gaius grudgingly grabbed it and walked off, and Anna stepped back into her tent, securing the flap close.

"Uhm… Guys? Hello? Did you even notice me?" Kellam just stood there, unnoticed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Gaius stormed back into his own tent, collapsing down into the bedroll. He had an intense urge to kick something—_wait, not that cookie jar. Anything but that._

He looked down at the shirt that was in his hand—he rather crumpled it. But… wait… it feels sort of heavy…

He laid it out. Anna obviously had it laundered and mended. He felt at the many little secret pockets he had in his shirt—there were multiple lining the hem. They were filled with new candy—very good candy. Anna filled them out for him.

His head cleared and his heart softened a bit, and then he let out a loud sigh and bent down to hit his head against the bedroll. _What have I done?! Why can't I do anything right today?_

Sure, Anna was money-minded—sometimes annoyingly so—and she knew how to play dirty in her trade, but she wasn't _all_ that. Robin could always count on her to help manage the Shepherd's finances, and Anna pulled strings and used her connections to make sure they were always getting value for their gold. She'd give gifts to fellow Shepherds just _because_, and she never even told them they were from her. The contented smile he'd see on Anna's face whenever someone enjoyed a gift she gave was stunning. He remembered how she smiled when he enjoyed that snapshot-thing. He looked at their photo, on that end table under his cookie jar.

_Dammit, I'm going to have to apologize and at least do something right today._

"Gaius, I heard news that you had an argument with Anna today, tell me is anything—" Chrom poked his blue-haired head into Gaius' tent, but before he finished his statement, he saw Gaius already getting up, grabbing a hidden stash of sweets he had under his bedroll.

"Already on it," Gaius said, looking inside the small stash he picked up and wondering what would Anna like in particular. What sweet communicated "I'm sorry I was a jerk"? Gaius didn't particularly know, _all _sweets were good enough for that message for him.

"Oh," Chrom said, looking less bothered now. "Well, that's good. The others were rather worried. It's bad to let small arguments like this stand."

_Wait… others were worried? How did Blue even know about me and Red's little fight, too?_ "Someone hear us?" Gaius asked, looking puzzled.

"I… I think?" Chrom said, not remembering exactly who it was who told him about it. "Things like this get around rather quickly."

Gaius sighed. Well, he might as well let everyone stop talking soon. He got up, about to go off and find Anna, until a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"Say, Blue… when this whole thing is over… do you think you can… you know, give me a permanent gig?"

Chrom looked surprised. "You're… asking me for employment?"

Gaius scratched his head. This was sort of embarrassing, in its own way. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, I could always go off and go back to the old way I did things, completing one arrangement and then moving onto the next—plenty of people could use my skill—but I was wondering if you could give me…you know, something… permanent."

"Of course!" Chrom answered, almost immediate. Gaius didn't brag about it, but he was quite skilled, on and off the battlefield. Ylisse's spies could always use someone of his calibre, and the knighthood would benefit from it, too. "Ylisse would be well-served by someone of your talents."

"Sweet," Gaius said, giving Chrom an appreciative tap on the shoulder. "Let's talk about it when we all make it out of this whole thing alive, hmm? Now excuse me while I find Miss Redhead."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Oh, hello, fair and beautiful maiden. Do you mind if I offer you company?"

Anna looked up from her work—staring at various kinds and designs of engagement rings—and found Inigo staring down at her with a wide grin. She looked back down at her work dismissively. "You've inherited your father's silver tongue… and his rejection rate. No thanks," Anna said.

"Yeeouch," Inigo said, feigning hurt as he dramatically put a hand to his chest. "I like to keep my fingers crossed that I have more successes than him. And you ought to be nicer than that, dear miss. We've met before, yes?"

Anna looked up from the photos, staring at Inigo for a bit. _Met before?_ "No, not really. Aside from you being the son of one of my comrades, I highly doubt it. You could be talking about any one of my sisters though."

Inigo smiled. "Nope, I believe not. I believe fate has been kind and let our paths cross once again, o fair miss. I'm positive it's you! That red hair is a match!"

"_Everyone_ in my family has red hair," Anna said, matter-of-factly.

Inigo laughed a little, not yet admitting defeat. He sat down beside Anna on the grass, and then surprisingly, put a hand to her back. "Well, there is one more reason I like to believe you're the very same woman I met. She had… this." And Inigo poked at Anna's back, right where her tattoo was.

Anna froze and felt herself go cold for a moment. She was the only one who had _that _tattoo. Inigo couldn't possibly had seen another Anna with the same mark, unless…

"…Oh." Anna and Inigo both turned around, seeing Gaius walk into the forest clearing, spotting them. He stood there, trying to understand the situation. Anna was sitting there, with Inigo dangerously close to her, arms around her back. He paled for a moment. Anna wasn't a shy, timid woman. She'd have shrugged off Inigo's arm unless she actually wanted it there.

"Getting cozy, aren't we?" the thief said, with a bit of venom in his voice.

Inigo quickly got up. "Nothing wrong about getting comfortable with comrades, hmm?" When Gaius slightly raised an eyebrow at him and shot him a dangerous look, Inigo laughed a little nervously. "Well then. I supposed I'll take my leave. We will talk again, lady Anna." And then he quickly walked back towards camp.

Gaius eyed him, staring at his back until he was safely out of sight, before moving towards Anna. She reached out for the Levin Sword that was beside her, and for a moment he thought she was about to hit her with it, but was relieved when he realized that she was only pushing it aside, as if making space for him beside her.

He took her up on it, and sat beside her. He noticed that she looked a bit stiff, as if he just caught her in an awkward moment. _Well… I did… With some other guy getting cozy with her._ "So anyone can just sit beside you and put his arms around you now?" He put an arm around her shoulder.

"Gaius!" Anna shrugged him off, annoyed. Here she was puzzled out of her wits about _how_ Inigo could possibly know about _her_, and Gaius obviously took it all the wrong way and was acting like a jerk.

_Ouch. That kind of stung. _This wasn't going well. He was supposed to make peace with her, but here he was, just finding another reason to be pissed off. That was a terrible way to start it. "What was he up to, anyway?" he said. "He's been leering at you since he saw you in the beach."

"Oh, has he now? I barely noticed, but apparently you did," Anna said. Gaius snorted a bit, making Anna smile. "It's nothing, really. He thrives on flirtation—the same sort of things his father would do, to be honest. I was just about to shrug him off and threaten him with my sword before you showed up. Think nothing of it."

That quelled down the jealousy Gaius admitted he was feeling. Of course. Anna wouldn't prefer some philandering youth coming from a noble family with a rather big inheritance over plain old him… right? _Right?!_

The silence between them carried a heavy weight, and Gaius knew it was partly because they hadn't made amends over the petty argument they had hours ago. He sighed, knowing he had to end it. He was not used to such an atmosphere beside Anna. He looked down at the papers on her lap and realized she was still browsing through ring designs.

"Finally chose the good ones?" Gaius asked her.

Anna shook her head, looking troubled. "No… it's rather difficult, you see. I can't get inside a man's head and think of what he'd want to buy for a woman. Of course it's difficult, I doubt I will ever need to buy one myself…"

Gaius looked thoughtful, and then he said, "…That's because you choose it depending on the woman you want to marry. You shouldn't think about what the man would want to buy, but rather, the woman. Say, if it was someone like Lissa or Maribelle… you'd want to have something flashy with big stones. If it were Sumia… something with more whimsy I suppose, and a flower motif wouldn't hurt. Now, Tharja… she reminds me of dark onyx stones—dark and untraditional."

Anna's face slowly lit up, and Gaius himself smiled to see it. "Of course," Anna said, and he could almost see the gears in her pretty merchant head turning. "I suppose I should put one out for each type of woman. I must tell my sisters about this. Gaius, you are a genius. A candy-loving genius."

"Heh. Pleasure to be of help," Gaius said, feeling proud of himself. Well, at least that went right. "Wouldn't hurt to give the option to customize the rings too. Say, engrave a little sentiment that they'd like inside."

Anna was smiling even more widely now. "_That _is smart. You've done some work on jewelry in the past, haven't you? That's why you've such valuable insight. I'm almost impressed."

"Heh." Gaius felt good about himself. He truly was widely skilled. To be able to live and survive out there, alone… he learned everything he could get his hands on. Metalworking was one of them. "I did have a jewelry-making phase, way back. Of course it started because I wanted to learn about the value of the jewelry I was stealing… ooops. I said that out loud, didn't I? Haha."

Anna laughed. And then Gaius took one of the papers off her lap, and reached out for her pen. "Now, if it were you, Anna…" he started drawing on the paper very, very roughly. Anna soon realized he was drawing a ring. "It would have to be gold—because you love gold—and then… ruby stones, maybe, as red as your hair." Gaius then stared at the drawing for a few more seconds, and then continued. "And because you're quite the talented _locksmith_…" He drew the ring in a key motif, as if the ring had been a rather elaborate, decorative key that was bent over to a round shape to be a ring. Anna laughed at this touch of whimsy. It _was_ quite her. Anyone would have been able to tell it was hers if she ever misplaced it.

"And what would the sentiment engraved on it be?" Anna asked, curious. "Something obvious like, 'you own the key to my heart'?"

Gaius laughed softly, but then looked at Anna, and then back down to his sketch. "No…" he said, almost a whisper.

He wrote the message down onto his sketch.

_There's only one you._

Anna turned as red as her hair.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

**A/N:**

I really enjoyed writing Anna and Gaius having that argument. I think one reason why shippers of them like me wanted them to _badly_ interact with each other is due to how similar they are (in manner of lifestyle and of job class) but the tropes they carry—the noble thief and the money-minded merchant—can have conflicting views. I can just imagine how if they supported they would probably discuss what the value of money is for each other, and how their tropes, lifestlyes, and views, despite being different, push them to be alone.

I'm gonna touch up more on the Anna backstory next and hopefully finish it up. This chapter was rather indulgent, I confess! Even I feel giddy from all the romance that was thick in the air at Gaius drawing up a ring for Anna! Kyaaaa!

Thank you for all the reviews I got! Cormag Ravenstaff, Super duper Sumo, Light1172, and all ye other ppl reading this! Your kind words really fuel me to write this up fast! So plz review okay!


End file.
